It’s taken more than a year, but UT System moving to sell 300 acres in Houston

More than a year after University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven scuttled a plan to develop a campus of sorts on about 300 acres acquired in Houston, the system is moving to put the property on the market.

The system issued a “request for qualifications” Friday seeking potential buyers for all or a significant portion of the property. “Alternatively, developers would need to provide a development concept, extend infrastructure, and then buy tracts constituting all or significant portions of the property,” the system said in a news release.

The ill-fated acquisition of the property for more than $200 million likely will go down as McRaven’s biggest misstep in his chancellorship, which began in January 2015. The retired four-star admiral and Navy SEAL will step down at the end of May for health reasons and to focus on writing, teaching and other pursuits.

Although the system’s Board of Regents endorsed the acquisition, a number of elected officials criticized it, and Gov. Greg Abbott’s silence amounted to tacit opposition. Then some new members of the board also expressed dismay about the acquisition.

Amid the pushback, McRaven announced in March 2017 that the system would divest itself of the land and that he didn’t expect it to lose any money through that process. His decision came before an advisory panel of Houston education, civic and business leaders recommended creation of a data science institute.

Sara Martinez Tucker, who became chairwoman of the UT board in September, charged a task force with studying the system’s options, and that panel directed preparation of the request for qualifications. Interested parties must respond by 5 p.m. May 21. The UT System will then invite a select group of respondents to submit proposals.

“The Board of Regents has not authorized any building or programs on the property and ultimately expects to sell all of the land,” the system said. “Its goal is to maximize the financial value of the land to benefit the UT System and its institutions.”

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